You might say that Rachel Allswang has been
postponing the inevitable. She grew up in her
mother Catherine’s restaurants in San Francisco
and Paris, before trying her hand at interior design
in New York. Now Catherine (who still runs three
spots in Paris, including La Laiterie Sainte Clotilde)
and Rachel have combined their talents to open
this 60-seat space encompassing four renovated
lots — one that was formerly used to raise pigeons.
No squabs on the menu here, just some of
Catherine’s neo-bistro dishes like duck-fat potatoes
with béarnaise and glazed flounder with sorrel jus.
Rachel, who designed the restaurant (open kitchen,
concrete floors, burnt-orange banquettes), heads the front of the house, but mom still rules the
kitchen. The restaurant should open within the next week or so; until then, take a look at the room
and the food.